MaddyM1212 - Section 2-1 City States in Mesopotamia

Notes on section 2-1:

-Bold Words-
- Fertile Crescent: A piece of land that has a curved shape and has rich land. It includes the land facing the Mediterranean Sea and the plain, Mesoptamia. (Now: Syria, nothern Iraq, Turkey)
- Mesoptamia: A plain. "Land between Rivers"
- City-state: Includes Uruk, Kish, Lagash, Umma, and Ur. Had the temple of ziggurat right in the middle.
- Dynasty: A series of rulers from a single family.
- Culutral Diffusion: The process in which a new idea or a product spread frome one culture to another.

-Key people-
- Scholars: Came up with the name Fertile Crescent
- Sumerians: Liked Mesopotamia because of the good soil
- Dynasties: Ruled most of the city-states
- Enlil: The god of storms and air was a very powerful god. "The raging flood that has no rivals"
- Ugallu: Demons that protected humans from evil demons who caused discase, misfortune, and misery.

-Key ideas/events-
Geography of the Fertile Crescent:

In South-west Asia, the land known as Fertile Crescent was great farming land because it provided great farming.
After the Mesopotamia would get floded once a year, it provided a type of mud called silt. Silt was essential for farmers because they would plant grain in silt and irrigated the fields with river water.

~Enviromental Challenges with Mesopotamia~
- randoms floods and occasionally little to no rain - unpredictable
- defenseless because there were no barriers
- Vital materials were scarce

~Solutions~
- To recieve water they dug irrigation ditches which helped grow crops
- Built city walls with mud bricks
- In order to recieve vital materials they traded grain, cloth and crafted tools for stone, wood and metal with the people of the mtns. and desert.

To get these jobs done you had to have organization, cooperation and leadership.

Sumerians Create City-States:

The summerians was one of the first group of people to create civilization.
300 B.C: The summierans expanded their land and built more cities my kept their same culture just changed rules/government. Each city had a city-state.

~Priests and Rulers Share Control~

Farmers believed that priests could communicate with god and give farmers good crops. The priests controlled the irrigation system and for taxes asked the farmers for some of their crops.
When war came a commander was chosen and their role would end after a war. After more frequent wars occured commanders had full control of the army.
After 2500 B.C. many Sumerian city-states were ruled by dynasties.

~The Spread of Cities~

A large amount of crops lets the Sumer's to trade with people from further away.
By 2500 B.C. the Sumer's were exchanging ideas about living in cities with another culture.

Sumerian Culture:
~A Religion of Many Gods~

Summerian's believed in Polytheism. The most powerful god was Enlil.
They believed their gods had children, fell in love, etc but were also immortal and all-powerful. Believed in keeping the gods happy by sacrifices.
They believed the souls of the dead went to the "land of no return."

~Life in Sumerian Society~

Social Classes: Kings, Landholders, preists, wealthy merchants, field workers, workshops, captured slaves, and sold slaves(would buy back their freedom)
Women: merchants, farmers, or artisans, have property, and join priesthood. Rich woman could learn to read and write.

~Sumerian Science and Technology~

Sumer's invented the wheel. the sail, the plow, first to use bronze.
Came up with a number system in order to erect city walls and buildings. It was 60 seconds = 1 minute and 360 degrees in a circle.
The ziggurat pyramids need to have arches, columns, ramps. Influenced Mesopotamian civilization.
Created writing and astronomy, chemistry and medicine. Made the first map in 2300 B.C. with a clay tablet.

The First Empire Builders:

3000 to 2000 B.C. the city-states were constantly fighting and it weakened the culture from other attacks from other non sumerian people. They later seperated to meet their own needs.